On August 5, the American crypto capital market welcomed a special 'new face'—Figure Technology Solutions (FTS). This fintech company, founded by SoFi co-founder and former CEO Mike Cagney, has filed an S-1 document with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), officially starting the listing process. Unlike traditional financial institutions that follow established rules, Figure has been built on a blockchain framework from its inception, reshaping the financial paradigm of mortgages and crypto-backed loans.
Mike Cagney led SoFi to create a storm in the internet finance sector, and now he aims to disrupt the business model that traditional banks rely on using blockchain. He stated, 'The funding validates our vision of redefining capital markets using blockchain technology, and we are also reaping real benefits by adopting blockchain in our lending and capital market operations.'
Entering from mortgages: The largest non-bank HELOC provider in the U.S.
In the mortgage market, Figure directly hits the soft spot of traditional banks with speed and transparency. In the past, applying for a HELOC loan could take weeks or even months, but on Figure's platform, users can get approval in as fast as 5 minutes through a 100% online application, and funds can be disbursed within 5 days.
As of now, Figure has helped over 200,000 households unlock $16 billion in home equity, becoming one of the largest non-bank HELOC providers in the U.S. What’s more intriguing is that this is not achieved through 'simplified reviews' in exchange for speed, but thanks to Figure’s self-developed Provenance blockchain. This is a public, PoS blockchain based on the Cosmos SDK, supporting instant finality; once confirmed, it cannot be rolled back, ensuring the safety and transparency of loan settlements.
Provenance not only establishes standardized, tamper-proof on-chain records for each loan but also directly connects to Figure’s own Figure Connect—a native on-chain private capital market platform. Through it, loan originators and investors can complete matching, pricing, and settlement on-chain, compressing the entire process from the traditional months down to days, virtually redefining the efficiency of private credit circulation.
Cryptocurrency collateral loans: Combining HODL and liquidity
If HELOC has allowed Figure to establish a foothold in the traditional mortgage sector, then cryptocurrency collateral loans are its way of making a mark in the digital asset arena.
In this business, customers can use Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) as collateral to borrow cash at a maximum LTV (loan-to-value ratio) of 75%, with interest rates as low as 8.91% (50% LTV), and no credit scoring required.
All collateralized assets will be stored in a decentralized, isolated multi-party computation (MPC) custody wallet, allowing customers to directly view the on-chain address, ensuring that funds are never misappropriated. This means that even if you are using BTC or ETH as collateral for a loan, you can confidently continue to 'hold for appreciation', while the cash in hand can be used to pay off debts, buy a house, renovate, or even directly increase your position in more crypto assets.
This design is particularly popular in bull markets—investors can release liquidity without having to sell at a loss while retaining the potential for asset appreciation; in bear markets, they can obtain emergency funds through collateralization, avoiding forced liquidation.
Actively integrating into the crypto space: RWA and stablecoins drive dual momentum
Figure's ambitions go far beyond mortgages and crypto loans. Leveraging the underlying technology of Provenance blockchain, in a total of $27.74 billion tokenized private credit market, Figure has issued loans totaling $13 billion, with active loan amounts reaching $11 billion, a utilization rate exceeding 84%. On rwa.xyz, it can be seen that Figure firmly ranks first in the private credit category. Whether it’s mortgage assets or private credit, Figure can digitize, program, and achieve standardized issuance and trading on-chain. These on-chain assets are inherently compatible with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, allowing funds that were originally locked in the traditional financial system to circulate, collateralize, and reuse globally, completely blurring the lines between TradFi and DeFi.
At the same time, the YLDS stablecoin launched by Figure Markets has become the world's first interest-bearing stablecoin approved by the SEC, pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, and calculates interest at SOFR-50bp, with an annual yield of about 3.79%. YLDS is not only impeccable in compliance but also brings stable returns to users, usable for various applications such as payments, cross-border settlement, and collateral financing. This combination of 'RWA + stablecoins' not only locks in dual increments from the real asset and digital asset markets for Figure but also positions it at the entrance of the next multi-trillion-dollar market.
Capital layout and listing preparation
In just a few years, Figure has completed multiple rounds of financing, with investors including well-known institutions like DCM Ventures, DST Global, Ribbit Capital, and Morgan Creek Digital, and has secured billions of dollars in debt lines from Jefferies, JPMorgan, and others. According to market news, the underwriting lineup for this IPO includes top Wall Street investment banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan.
Previously, Figure had restructured its internal framework, incorporating the lending entity Figure Lending LLC into the Figure Technology Solutions brand system, and introduced an executive team with rich regulatory and corporate governance experience to pave the way for going public.
Summary
2025 may be remembered as the year of coin-stock convergence. From the emergence of various 'shanzhai coin versions of micro-strategies', to CRCL creating a crazy myth of 10 times in a month after IPO, to top crypto companies like Kraken gearing up, the integration of capital markets and on-chain markets is entering deep waters.
Now, everyone is waiting for that true RWA whale—a presence that can bring trillion-level real assets on-chain and redefine the market landscape like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Figure is sprinting towards this position, and its next step may just be part of history.
